One thing that I really like about being here is that I get to meet people from all different cultures, not just Guatemalans.  One night this week at dinner our Korean housemate had some of her Korean friends over.  We all talked in Spanish because it was the only language that everyone at the table could understand, however they both spoke 5 languages.  After dinner one of them got his guitar and started singing for us.  Since he knew so many languages we asked him to sing in some of the other languages.  At one point we were sitting around the table in Guatemala listening to a Korean singing in Russian.  It was one of those moments where you realize how small the world really is.  Last week in one night we chatted with a 34 year-old Slovenian economics teacher, a 22 year-old Guatemalan realtor and paraglider and an 18 year-old Canadian surfer sponsored by Rip Curl.  When I signed up for this trip I was expecting to meet a lot of Guatemalans, and I certainly have, but I didn’t realize how many other people from different countries and backgrounds I would meet.

                For my practicum at Hotel Camino Real Antigua I will have to do a 25 min. long presentation on what I have learned.  This doesn’t sound bad at all until I tell you that it has to be in Spanish and in front of the entire board of directors.  Sounds a little more daunting now doesn’t it?  I started writing out what I want to say in my presentation and I was actually amazed at how much I was able write in Spanish.  I get so frustrated sometimes by how little Spanish I know when I am conversing with someone but writing out what I have learned really helped me see just how much Spanish I have absorbed.  However, the learning process has not been without its embarrassing disasters.  One day I had the line of a rap song stuck in my head.  To practice my Spanish I wanted to translate it and sing it in Spanish.  The line was short and simple, “every day I’m hustling.”  The first part translates really easily into “cada dia estoy…” but I was having trouble figuring out how to translate the word “hustling” as it would be used in a rap song.  That night I asked my friend Diego and he said that I could use the word “apostando.”  I was really excited about my new song and I sang it to all my roommates who were, of course, thrilled.  The next night at dinner I sang my little song to Marta who burst out into a fit of laughter.  When she regained composer she asked if I knew what I had said and I said yes thinking she just thought it was funny that I was rapping.  However, she informed me that I had sung “cada dia estoy apestando” which means “every day I am stinking.”  Who would have thought that pronouncing one little “o” as an “e” could cause such a drastic change in the meaning of my song.  So now it is a running joke in our house that I stink every day, but I will certainly never forget how to say “hustling” in Spanish.

                The practicum that I am doing at Camino Real has really allowed me to experience so much more of the Guatemalan culture than I think I could have otherwise.  This Saturday me and Kyle worked at a $28,000 wedding reception in one of Antigua’s many ruins.  It was incredible.  We were there before anyone from the hotel and then helped set things up throughout the day.  It was amazing to see the transformation from the morning when we arrived to how exquisite everything was by the time of the wedding.  Even though they are really close to where we live we had never been in these specific ruins before so it was really cool to get to hang out in them all day.  Jorge, the chef, (who is a spectacular cook) also let us have dinner at the reception.  I think it is a safe bet to say that neither of us will ever find ourselves eating dinner at a $28,000 wedding again anytime soon so we enjoyed it thoroughly.  

Surveying the preparations

The ruins were lit up by color-changing accent lights

There were probably at least 1,000 candles there

It worked! They are married!

I even learned how to fold pretty napkins

Me and Kyle with Chef Jorge (a.k.a. the best Chef in Antigua!)

                A few weeks ago I was working in the accounting department of the hotel and I was able to meet Karla, who started the whole planning process for this wedding.  She does not work at the hotel anymore but was there picking up her last paycheck when the lady who was attempting to teach me accounting procedures in Spanish conned her into translating for me.  She is Guatemalan and worked at Disney in Orlando last year so her English is really good.  I think I learned more in that 20 minutes than I had the rest of the 4 hours, the language barrier can be a real pain sometimes.  We ended up getting along really well and have hung out several times when she comes to Antigua (she lives in Guatemala City).  Last night the two of us and Kyle went to have some real Guatemalan food.  We went to this little taco joint and ironically got a burrito-like thing called a “Gringa” which is what Guatemalans call girls from the U.S.  It was really really good and we got it with a pineapple soda called Tiky that apparently is only in Guatemala.   However, last night I felt pretty sick and this morning Kyle is pretty sick so it looks like our stomachs don’t even like the illusion of cannibalism.  But before the sickness set in Karla stayed and helped me correct my Spanish for my presentation.  It was so incredibly helpful to have a native speaker helping me who also had worked at the hotel and understands all its inner workings.  I am giving the presentation this Thursday, then I am going to Semuc Champey for the weekend, then I have my marketing project presentation on Tuesday and then I fly home that Thursday.  My time here seems to be wrapping up really quickly and it is crazy to think that it is almost over.  I am definitely looking forward to going home but I am also kind of having a mid-semester-in-Guatemala crisis.  I just want to soak up everything here and not miss a single opportunity.

Just a couple of Gringos eating some Gringas

TIKY!

Kyle, Me & Karla